At long last, Mapua University is back on the NCAA men’s volleyball finals stage.
The Cardinals secured a spot in the Season 101 finals after dethroning Arellano University in their best-of-three semifinal series.
This marks Mapua’s first finals appearance in more than a decade—likely its first since Season 77, when the school last captured the title in the 2001–2002 season.
In recent years, Mapua had several opportunities to reach the finals but fell short. In Season 98, the Cardinals finished fifth, while in Season 100, they placed second in the elimination round.
For veterans Barbie San Andres and Alvin Macadangdang, reaching the finals is a fitting way to cap their collegiate careers.
“Sobrang saya na sa final year ko, mag-finals kami ngayon. Nagte-thank you ako sa mga coaches and teammates ko na nagtiwala sa isa't isa. Tiwala kami kay coach, sa team, sa isa't isa,” San Andres said.
(I'm so happy that in my final year, we were able to make the finals. I said thank you to my coaches and teammates who all trusted each other. We all trusted in coach, in the team, in each other.)
“Simula noong elimination round, sinabi namin sa isa’t isa na pagtrabahuhan namin ito hangga’t di pa tapos ‘yung season na ito. Kaya pa,” Macadangdang said.
(From the elimination round, we told each other to work for it and while the season isn't over, we can still do it.)
Mapua endured a challenging campaign before breaking through to the finals.
At one point in the preliminary round, the Cardinals held a 3–5 record before closing the crossover phase with a win over Arellano. By the end of the round, after returning to their original group, Mapua improved to 7–6—enough to clinch the third seed in Group A.
From there, the Cardinals had to defeat San Beda University twice in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals.
For San Andres, their challenging journey served as a test of character.
“Ang lagi ko nire-remind sa team ko, hindi namin tinalo ‘yung San Beda ng dalawang beses kasi matatalo kami sa semis. Kumbaga ‘yun ang purpose sa amin ni Lord,” San Andres said. “Pine-prepare po kami ni Lord sa mas magandang plano Niya para sa amin.”
“Tinest lang po siguro kami ni Lord kung bibitaw kami o lalaban kami,” San Andres added.
(What I always remind the team, we didn't beat San Beda twice because we would've lost in the semis. That was the purpose for us by the Lord. The Lord prepared us for the good plans He had for us.)
According to Macadangdang, their victory over Arellano also served as redemption after falling to the Chiefs in the Final Four last season.
Another veteran, Arjay Ramos, expressed gratitude for reaching the championship round.
“Kasi una-una po sa lahat, si Lord po hindi po kami binigo. Ayun po, nag-pray lang po talaga kami nang nag-pray,” Ramos said.
“‘Yun nga, binigay Niya naman po, worth it po yung pagsa-sacrifice po namin sa team.”
(First of all, Lord did not let us down. There, we really prayed and prayed for this. And it was given to us. The sacrifice we made as a team was worth it.)
Head coach Aying Esteban echoed the sentiment, saying their finals stint felt destined.
“Siguro plano talaga ni God na ganun na mangyari para matuto rin ‘yung mga players namin na huwag magpabaya,” he said.
“Siguro Siya talaga nagplano kung ano man mayroon ngayon sa amin. Talagang binigay lang lahat ng mga bata, talagang gusto nilang manalo.”
(I guess this was God's plan that this would happen so that our players would learn not to be careless. I guess it was Him that planned whatever our team has now. But our players really gave their all and they really wanted to win.)
For Esteban, reaching the finals is already a reward for the team’s hard work.
“Sabi ko nga, ‘pag dumarating ‘yung ganito na may nananalo, so bonus na lang. Basta sa akin, mabigyan ko ng tamang instruction ang mga players, makapag-aral ng maayos ‘yung mga players, mabigyan ang players ng kung ano ang para sa kanila. Sinasabi ko sa kanila, ‘yung pagkapanalo, ‘yung pagkakataon na umakyat, bonus na sa atin ‘yun. At dahil sa inyo ‘yun.”
(Like I said, when this comes that there are wins, it's a bonus. For me, if I'm able to give the correct instructions to my players, and they're able to study well, my players get what's for them. I told them, the wins, the opportunity to rise up, that's bonus for us. And that's all because of you.)
Mapua will face De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the finals, which begins on Sunday.
—JMB, GMA News
